Bedtime Duty
by Lady Dudley
Summary: More Jardine family shenanigans.
1. Little Cowboy: Jimmy

**A/N: Hiya, I'm back. I was inspired while listening to Peter Combe's "Lullaby" (which, unfortunately, I couldn't use as I couldn't find the lyrics) to write another family story, this time looking at Michael and the kids. So there's not really that much Jackie in this one. Hope you don't mind!  
The song in this Chapter is "Little Cowboy" by Harry Nilsson. Hope you enjoy!**

_**Bedtime Duty:  
**__**Little Cowboy**_

There was no denying that motherhood was a blessing, but there were times when Jackie could almost wish it was a blessing she didn't have.

This was one of those times.

No matter what she did she couldn't get Jimmy to go to sleep. And she had tried everything: she'd fed him, she'd changed him and she'd sung to him. Nothing seemed to be working.

She jumped as a dishevelled Michael came to join her.

"Give him to me," he suggested.

Jackie looked doubtful, "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, you have work tomorrow and..."

"Jackie," Michael cut her off, "you're tired, give him to me," he added firmly.

Still looking doubtful Jackie did so, "Now go to bed," Michael ordered as he made his way to a nearby chair.

"You haven't been this bossy since we worked together," Jackie teased.

Michael laughed, "You never did what I told you to then either."

Jackie stuck her tongue out at him before stifling a yawn. She rolled her eyes at Michael's look and, without another word, left the room.

Michael looked down at the squalling infant, "Now, my boy, you really need to get some sleep," Michael informed him as he sat down.

Jimmy paused for a few moments in his fussing before he started up again. Sighing Michael shifted his hold on him and began to sing a lullaby in low tones:

"_Little cowboy, put your saddle in the barn  
Tie your horse up tight, so he'll know no harm  
Put your hat and your gun  
Beside you on the chair  
Don't forget, you've got to say a little prayer  
Little cowboy, you'd better hit the sandman trail  
Or you'll be late for roundup time you know  
If you wanna be a cowboy, you'd better rest a while  
Little cowboy baby of the old corral  
Little cowboy baby of the old corral"_

He had to sing it through twice more before Jimmy finally quietened down and a further one and a half times before Jimmy finally drifted off to sleep.

Gently, so as not to wake him, Michael put him back into the cradle before he snuck out of the room.

"From now on, you're on bedtime duty," Jackie mumbled as he climbed into the bed beside her.

"Whatever makes you happy," Michael told her as he pulled her close.


	2. Tara Talara Tala: Nerys

**A/N: This one's short and (hopefully) sweet. The song is "Tara Talara Tala" by Dean Martin.**

_**Bedtime Duty:  
**__**Tara Talara Tala**_

"_Oh, daddy made up this lullaby  
Just to sing it to you  
Soon as you learn this lullaby  
You can sing it to your dolly too._"

Michael crooned softly to the baby he held in his arms.

He still couldn't believe that he and Jackie had been blessed with another tiny miracle.

"_Tara talara tala  
Play peek-a-boo with the stars.  
Hush-a-bye baby  
When shadows creep  
Dreamland is not very far._

_Tara talara tala  
Just like the angel you are  
Rock-a-bye baby  
Now you're asleep.  
Tara talara tala  
Tara talara tala."_

Nerys was much easier to get to sleep than Jimmy had been, in fact she was all ready asleep in his arms, but he couldn't quite bring himself to put her down just yet.

"_Vieni sul mar,  
Vieni a vogar,  
Sentirai l'ebbrezza  
Del tuo marinar. _

_Taratalara tala  
Just like the angel you are  
Rock-a-bye baby  
Now you're asleep.  
Tara talara tala  
Tara talara tala."_

Quietly he laid her down in the cradle, she didn't even stir. Not even when the door squeaked as Michael opened it.

"_Mmmmmm...go to sleep..."_ he continued as he crept out of the room.

2-year-old Jimmy met him outside the door, "Is she asleep now?" he demanded.

"Mm-hm," Michael answered, feeling a little dreamy himself after putting Nerys to bed.

"Good, because I want you to come with me," Jimmy continued, grabbing Michael's hand and dragging him off, abruptly jerking Michael back to reality.


	3. Sweet Dreams and Teddy Bears: Katrina

**A/N: Ah, Katrina, she's such a fun child to write :) The song is "Sweet Dreams and Teddy Bears" by Peter Combe. **

_**Bedtime Duty:  
**__**Sweet Dreams and Teddy Bears**_

"No."

Jackie closed her eyes briefly to control her temper before looking 2-year-old Katrina in the eye, "Katie, it's time to go to bed," Jackie repeated firmly.

"No, Daddy always sings to me before I go to sleep, I want Daddy," came the stubborn response.

Jackie scrubbed her eyes; she really didn't want to deal with this right now. She still had Jimmy and Nerys to get to bed and she all ready exhausted. Looking after three children was hard work.

Especially since Jackie was seven months pregnant with her fourth child.

She made a mental note to kill Michael later.

"Fine," she said finally, heaving herself off the side of Katrina's bed, "come with me," she said, holding out her hand.

Katrina took it, wondering what was going to happen, knowing she may have pushed her mother just that little bit too far.

Jackie took her into the kitchen and picked up the phone.

Michael answered on the third ring.

"Don't think you can get out of bedtime duty this easily, Michael," Jackie informed him before he could say anything, "Katie won't go to sleep unless you sing to her," she added.

Michael decided from Jackie's tone not to make any smart comments, "Put her on the phone, honey, I'll talk to her," he told her.

Jackie handed the phone wordlessly to Katrina. "Hi Daddy," she greeted him brightly.

"Katie, what's this I hear about you not going to bed for Mummy?" Michael asked, trying to keep his tone stern in the face of his private amusement.

"I wanted you to sing to me, I miss you Daddy..." came Katrina's quiet reply.

Michael rubbed his face with his free hand; work had been keeping him pretty busy lately, trust Katrina to be the one to give him the guilt trip about it.

"Two verses and then its straight to bed, missy," he informed her.

"Can't you sing the whole song Daddy?" she begged.

"Three verses," he amended, "no more."

"Ok Daddy," she agreed, there was a short pause, "can you sing the pussy cat verse?"

Michael sighed, "Fine," he agreed. Grateful that he had his own office and the door was closed, Michael began to sing:

"_In the daytime sunshine  
In the night time moonlight  
In the morning blue skies  
In the evening starlight  
And everyday is followed by every night  
Stay awake and then snuggle up tight  
Sweet dreams and teddy bears tonight...  
Sweet dreams and teddy bears tonight _

_Pussy cats go a prowlin'_  
_By the silvery moon_  
_Spooky sounds by my window_  
_On a wintry night in Ju-u-une_  
_Stay away from my window_  
_I'm too scared to even peep_  
_Pussy's nice in the daytime_  
_But leave me be now, I need my sleep_

_But Mr Sun will always_  
_Light up your morning_  
_It's a daily miracle_  
_The sunrise at dawnin'_  
_And everyday is followed by every night_  
_Stay awake and then snuggle up tight_  
_Sweet dreams and teddy bears tonight..._  
_Sweet dreams and teddy bears tonight..."_

"Thank you Daddy," Katrina said sweetly, "good night. I love you," she added.

"I love you too, sweetheart, good night."

Katrina handed the phone back to Jackie and trundled off to bed, her teddy bear (Bumble) tucked securely under her arm.

"I don't know how you do it, but you're good," Jackie told him as she watched Katrina go.

"Just pure talent," Michael told her.

"I don't know about that, I've heard you sing," Jackie teased, in a better mood now that Katrina was going to bed.

"Very funny," Michael replied, pretending to be offended, "I'll be home soon," he promised.

"You better," Jackie told him, before they both hung up and Jackie went to check on Katrina. She smiled when she found her snuggled up in bed with Bumble, fast asleep.


	4. Puppy Love: Ebony

**A/N: This one doesn't feature a song at all, just because I wanted one child that would just nod off without anything (it was orginally going to be Andrew)**

_**Bedtime Duty:  
**__**Puppy Love**_

Of his four children, Ebony was the easiest in terms of sleep.

When it was time for her to go to bed she was usually out like a light in only a few minutes. Best of all, unlike her siblings, if she fell asleep somewhere other than her cot she could be picked up and carried to bed without even stirring.

Something which Michael found came in handy as she would invariably fall asleep on the couch or in the car after they had been out for the evening. The only drawback that Michael could see to how soundly she slept was that sometimes he couldn't find her when she fell asleep.

Tonight was one of those nights.

Jimmy, Nerys and Katrina were watching TV in the lounge and hadn't seen her since dinner time and Jackie had gone to bed with a headache. Michael was loath to wake her to inform her that he had lost one of their children so he set off to find her himself, trying not to think about what mischief a toddler could get into on her own.

He decided to start upstairs and work his way down.

He was contemplating whether to risk waking Jackie to peek in their room, when Nerys came to join him. "I think you should see this," she informed him, motioning for him to follow her down the stairs.

He followed her down into the kitchen to find Jimmy and Katrina stifling their laughter as they stood near the corner where Nelson slept (not that they would have been heard over Nelson's snores). As he came closer he caught sight of something pink in Nelson's bed, suspending his disbelief he stepped up to the bed.

Sure enough, snuggled up close to Nelson, fast asleep and clutching her stuffed dog (Woof) was Ebony. He decided it was probably better not to ask how she had ended up in bed with the dog and just be grateful that Nelson was so comfortable with the children he had let her snuggle into him without incident.

"All right, the show's over," Michael informed his older children as he picked up Ebony, causing a bleary eyed Nelson to wake up. "I'm taking this one to bed, and then it's your turn," he added looking down at Katrina, "so make sure you're ready," he continued, Katrina nodded and scampered off to retrieve Bumble from the lounge room.

Jimmy and Nerys followed suit and Michael looked back down at Nelson who was drifting back off to sleep. "Thanks for getting her to sleep," Michael said dryly before carrying her out of the room.

Nelson's snores followed in his wake.


	5. Blanket For A Sail: Andrew

**A/N: What can I say? I love Nelson :) The song is "Blanket For A Sail" by Harry Nilsson.**

_**Bedtime Duty:  
**__**Blanket For A Sail**_

"Nelso," 9-month-old Andrew burbled, pointing over Michael's shoulder at the canine in question as he wandered into the room.

Michael turned around to look down at the dog, "Nelson, get out of here," he said, attempting to usher the Labrador out of the room. Nelson easily sidestepped him and came to sit by the cot.

Ever since Ebony had gone through a phase of going to sleep in Nelson's bed, Nelson had taken it upon himself to be present when any of the children were being put to bed. Sometimes, Michael had to admit, the dog was a help (especially when he had to check the room for monsters) but more often than not having him there was a hindrance.

Especially where Andrew was concerned, as his youngest child was fascinated by Nelson. To the extent that his first word after the usual 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' was 'Nelson' or rather, 'Nelso.'

"Isn't there something else you could be doing?" Michael asked the dog, "Like checking on the other children or Jackie, where's Jackie?" Michael added, feeling a little foolish for talking to the dog but hoping that his loyalty to Jackie might make him leave the room.

Nelson, however, continued to sit by the cot, looking a little bored by Michael's attempts to deter him from his chosen purpose.

"You're lucky you're cute," Michael told him, only to be rewarded with a yawn. Michael sighed and, deciding it was time Andrew was in bed anyway, gave up and carried the baby in question over to the cot and put him in it.

"Song!" Andrew demanded.

Michael glared down at Nelson, who looked innocently back, "I hate singing to the children with you here," he confessed, "I know you're laughing at me." Nelson wagged his tail, Michael frowned.

Turning back to Andrew, Michael began his lullaby:

"_Way out on the ocean  
Far beyond the seven seas  
There's a tiny little boat  
Faith is keeping her afloat  
And a tiny little skipper with his worn and tattered coat_

_You see the law of the ocean  
Says you shall never fail  
Use your heart as a rudder  
Faith as a compass  
And a blanket for a sail_

_Sleep for the weary  
Dreams for us all  
Rest your head on a pillow  
And I'll tell you a tale  
Use your heart as a blanket  
And a blanket for a sail_"

Michael smiled as Andrew slowly drifted off to sleep.

"_Row, row, row your boat gently through a dream_

_Way out on the ocean  
Far beyond the seven seas  
There's a tiny little boat  
Faith is keeping her afloat  
And a tiny little skipper with his worn and tattered coat_

_You see the law of the ocean  
Says you shall never fail  
Use your heart as a rudder  
Faith as a compass  
And a blanket for a sail_"

With a satisfied nod Michael crept out the room, Nelson in tow.

"Well, we did it," he said with a smile as he shut the door and, patting Nelson on the head, walked off to the see if Ebony was ready for bed.

Emboldened by the pat, Nelson followed closely behind.


End file.
